May 2, 2017

Surveying Noah at 11 years

Now that Noah is an {older} kid, I felt like a survey asking basic questions like I have done for years was a tad too young for my big, bad pre-teen.  I asked Noah if he would rather just skip birthday surveys from now on.  His answer was two-fold - he doesn't wanna fill them out, but he does want to answer them and have ME fill the out for him.  HA!  So I found a more thoughtful line of questioning for the keepsake tradition and we went from there.  These questions came from a list of things to ask your kids to help them know themselves better.  Enjoy!
  1. What are your strengths?  lifting things, aiming, Legos, being funny, being creative but not in an artsy way
  2. Who do you talk to when you have a problem and how do they help?  You and Daddy;  by giving me advice.
  3. What are things you worry about?  Like, if I am gonna get in trouble, like if I did something wrong.  And if I watch a scary movie, I worry about nightmares.  (when I asked what scary movie he was thinking of, he said The Passion of the Christ and that he had bad dream about Satan from that movie.)
  4. What do you wish your parents knew about you?  Nothing really.  
  5. What do you wish your friends knew about you?  That I like to play Nerf a lot.  And that they'd know that I am older than Anna.  They keep saying Anna and I must be twins because we are the same size.
  6. If you could have one wish, what would it be?  For Anna to play Nerf every day with me.
  7. If you weren't afraid, what would you do? Ride a scary roller coaster.  Go in a war.
  8. Where do you feel safest?  At home.  Or in my room.
  9. How do you cope when you feel like a failure at something?  Cry or get very mad.
  10. How can you tell that you're getting angry? How does your body feel? I never get angry.  If I do, I tense up and sort of scowl or growl to myself.
  11. How are you different?  I'm adopted.
  12. What's something that people say to you that's really stuck with you?  When friends say they like having me around or that they want to play with me.
  13. What do you do when people don't seem to like you?  Walk away.  Don't worry about it.
  14. What is your proudest accomplishment? Building a treehouse with Daddy.  Finishing a school year.  That I have and get to know my birthparents. That I am kind to people.  That I am good at Legos and video games.
  15. What are some goals you have?  To save money.  To get bunnies.  To get a phone.  To have a Nerf room.
  16. What do you like about your school?  My teacher (at co-op).
  17. What do you dislike about school?  When there are class snacks that I can't have because of my allergy. 
  18. What do you like about homeschooling? Everything! Darts, math, all subjects except silent reading.
  19. What do you dislike about homeschooling?  Silent reading.
  20. What do you do when you're stressed out?  Sit down, distract myself, pace around a room, ask lots of questions about what is coming next.
  21. What's something nice you could say to yourself?  You are good at things.  Keep trying, don't give up.
  22. What is your happiest memory?  Playing Nerf guns with friends on Saturday for my birthday.  Going to DisneyWorld.  Getting custody of Lasa.
  23. What do you do when you are feeling downIs it ok to cry or yell?  No.  No, I never do that. 
  24. What is your favorite movie, song, book, color, animal, food, and friend?  Rogue One, El Shaddai, Extreme Adventures:Spider Bite, blue, cheetah, chicken poppyseed casserole still, all of them!
  25. What are you grateful for and hopeful for?  Thankful for friends and family and Anna.  Hopeful for a cure for peanut allergy.
  26. What do you think you might like to be when you are all grown?  I want my first job to be at Chick-Fil-A.  After that, I think I may be good at driving a firetruck or ambulance like you and Daddy said.  I would really like a job blowing things up, like at a construction site or quarry or in the movies doing special effects where things blow up.

4 comments:

Emily said...

I think this was my favorite survey of all the survey's out there. And I absolutely LOVE his well thought out answers. He really is growing up. I really like him :)

Emily said...

and I'm gonna steal it for Brooklyn.

Kimberly said...

That's so funny because I felt like he wasn't putting much thought into his answers. Just spouted off quick replies. :/ Anna was in the room and she even helped jumpstart his thinking by offered answers FOR him. HA! She had really good answers. HA!! I had to tell her to hush up though because I wanted the birthday boy's honest answers on his own. :}

Kimberly said...

PS - I pinned this list of questions in my Kid Stuff Done pinboard if you want a print version for later.